“I was the only student in my vet school class to specialize in food animal medicine. I was fascinated with all animals and wanted to extend myself beyond a basic education. My interests expanded to providing alternative methods of healthcare to (almost) all animal species. From homeopathy to chiropractic and beyond, I was open to learning whatever it took to treat my patients’ issues. This led me to CIVT’s Graduate Diploma of Veterinary Chinese Medicine course, which was very rigorous, and plain old hard! But I learnt so much, more than I expected. I felt I had a decent foundation knowledge but knew my understanding of advanced topics was underdeveloped. This course addressed all of that. I’m really happy to have undertaken the course, and even happier to have successfully completed it.”

Dr Catherine Alinovi

United States of America

“I had been a human osteopath for over twenty years and had also been treating dogs using osteopathy and dry needling for quite some time. I always referred my human patients out for acupuncture as I had seen the benefits. I became interested in improving my needling technique and options for dogs, so I enrolled in CIVT’s Graduate Diploma of Veterinary Acupuncture course. Acupuncture has allowed me to future proof as it's less physically demanding than osteopathy.”

Rachel Mahoney

Australia

“As a nutritional therapist with over a decade of experience, expanding into pet nutrition felt like a natural next step, though it was a deeply personal journey that set me on this path. It began with my two senior dogs - Wendy and Nicol. Wanting the best for them as they aged, I started looking into proper nutrition tailored to their needs. When one of them was diagnosed with kidney disease, that search became even more urgent. Around the same time, my professional work was growing to encompass animal nutrition, and I knew I needed both the skills and a formal qualification to do it well.

The name CIVT came up during my research and interestingly, I discovered that my dog's own vet had attended a CIVT course too. That gave me all the confidence to enroll in CIVT's Certification in Small Animal Natural Nutrition course. I can honestly say that taking this course is one of the best investments I have ever made — personally and professionally. It is beautifully structured, and the support from the tutors and staff throughout was outstanding. Assignments were marked promptly and returned with thoughtful, constructive feedback. The depth of knowledge I gained in small animal natural nutrition has been invaluable. Most importantly, this course has given me the confidence to step into this field with real purpose and competence. I am so grateful I found CIVT.”

Katherine Khoo

Singapore

“The 5Ps course delivers exactly what it promises: a short, practical, and accessible introduction to pain prevention in dogs and cats. For me as a Canine Therapist and Pet Parent, it was a refresher in fundamental pain theory, a valuable reminder of mindful handling of canine movement in everyday life with attention to early signs of pain, and a real motivator to explore new approaches to pain management in my clinical work. The course also helped me find clearer and more convincing arguments when communicating with pet owners to support and justify a multimodal approach to pain management. It is clear throughout the course that this topic truly matters to the highly experienced Dr Tanya Grantham.”

Andreas Lanzilotti

Switzerland

"I thoroughly enjoyed the Certification in Veterinary Natural Nutrition course. It gave lots of practical information regarding clinical nutrition which is helping me in practice daily. I appreciate that the course provided a number of different viewpoints regarding various nutrition subjects. It is a course that not only contains important foundational information but also provides real world experiences from a number of practitioners, which I appreciate. Most importantly for me, I was able to learn how to use the Animal Diet Formulator program and formulated a number of raw and cooked recipes for healthy animals. "

Dr Yen Adamenkova

United States of America

"I have had the pleasure to work with integrative practitioners in veterinary school and multiple clinics upon graduation. Seeing what they can offer to their patients and the benefits firsthand, inspired me to pursue training in acupuncture. I chose CIVT’s Graduate Diploma of Veterinary Acupuncture course due to their excellent instructors and flexibility with self-paced online learning. This made it possible to complete the course while continuing to work full time and be with my family. The course was fantastic with great lectures and hands-on experience opportunities and instructors/mentors. I am so excited to have completed the course and received my Graduate Diploma qualification. Being able to offer integrative options to my patients and see the results from my recommendations and treatment plans has been exceptional. I am excited to continue to grow within this amazing field of veterinary medicine.”

Dr Megan Dayton Milford

United States of America

“I was inspired to study acupuncture by the gap often left by Western treatment, especially in musculoskeletal cases, and striving to provide options for clients outside of the standard Western toolbox. I found the Graduate Diploma of Veterinary Acupuncture course to be very informative and comprehensive. It has given me confidence and options for case management and when talking to clients and other professionals using acupuncture and herbs.” 

Dr Katherine Dodd

Australia

“My love for plants and gardening has always been a big part of who I am. Over time, I became deeply interested in living sustainably and naturally and started using herbal medicine for my own health. As a conventional veterinarian, I began to struggle with the realization that the natural way I was caring for myself didn’t align with how I was caring for my patients. I was also feeling burnt out in veterinary medicine and searching for a way to make my work feel meaningful again. Eventually, I stumbled upon CIVT. 

I had no prior experience with integrative medicine when I enrolled in CIVT’s Graduate Diploma of Veterinary Western Herbal Medicine. I was drawn to Western herbal medicine because it aligned with my scientific mindset while still honoring the natural foundations of healing. The course was comprehensive, evidence-based, and truly eye-opening. It gave me the tools, confidence, and perspective to integrate herbal medicine into my work, and it completely reshaped how I practice and think about healing. Most importantly, it taught me to listen to my patients and their people again. This program didn’t just change how I practice - it gave me back the joy and meaning of veterinary medicine I thought I’d lost somewhere along the way.”

Dr Zach Lane

United States of America

“As the daughter of two conventional human general practitioners, I spent most of my life carrying a strong skepticism for any complementary, integrative, or natural therapies. After practicing conventional small animal medicine for ten years, I was inspired to learn more about integrative medicine after my clients started requesting more natural therapies, and I saw the benefit of naturopathic therapies with my own health. I'd heard great things about CIVT, so after browsing the courses I decided to dive into the Certification in Veterinary Western Herbal Medicine, with plans to continue on with the Graduate Diploma course if I could manage the study load whilst running a practice and parenting young children. I loved the certification so much, after I finished it I went straight into the second year to complete the Grad Dip.

The course really opened my eyes up to the long history of herbal medicine use, in both people and animals, and the strong scientific and anecdotal evidence that exists for many herbal therapies. So many references and scientific papers were provided during the course as extra reading material that I felt confident in recommending these therapies to my clients, even before I had developed my own experience using them. My tutor was very understanding of my busy work and personal schedule and gave me the flexibility to extend modules when required, and I was also able to pause the diploma for a few months just after I gave birth to my youngest baby.

I strongly recommend this course for anyone considering learning more about integrative therapies and veterinary Western herbal medicine - whether you're worried you don't have the time to fit it in, or you're still on the fence about integrative medicine, this course will open your eyes to a whole new world of effective and safe treatment options that I now reach for time and time again with my patients. I also thoroughly enjoyed the modules where you make your own herbal ointments and tinctures; it is an empowering feeling to know that if you have access to a medicinal herbal garden, or create your own, you can make your own therapeutic products!”

Dr Caroline Wood

Australia